CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Toni Kukoc scored 16 points and Andrew Lang
added 14 and 10 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls avoided the
longest home losing streak in franchise history with their most
convincing win of the season, 94-77 over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Bulls (3-10) had dropped six straight games at the United
Center, matching the Chicago squad that lost six in a row at
home from January 14-February 4, 1984 -- the season before
Michael Jordan was drafted.

Randy Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls, who
took control with an 18-0 second-quarter run.

"We are used to having our first (home) win in our first game,"
said Brown, who is one of the few holdovers from Chicago's
championship squad of a season ago. "Guys made shots, that was
the key."

Mark Bryant began the spurt with a six-footer and layup that put
the Bulls ahead for good, 30-28, with 6:28 remaining in the
first half. Kukoc drained a 3-pointer that capped the run with
3:51 left and widened the gap to 44-28.

Derrick Coleman scored 17 points and Chuck Person and David
Wesley added 13 apiece for the Hornets, who have lost seven of
their last eight games.

"I thought we hung in there tough for a good part of the game,"
Charlotte coach Dave Cowens said. "Chicago just made their
shots. We couldn't hit anything. They got turnovers in
bunches."

Chicago coach Tim Floyd was fined $5,000 by the league earlier
today for verbally abusing officials after Thursday's 98-80 home
loss to Philadelphia. He had to be pleased with his club's
surprising offensive performance tonight. The Bulls fell two
points shy of their season high, which came in a 104-96 loss at
Utah on opening night.

"Obviously great," Floyd said when asked how he felt. "Like
we've been exorcised."

The Bulls entered the contest averaging a league-low 79.1 points
but took advantage of a defense ranked 25th in the NBA at 97.3
points per game.

Chicago took three of four games from Charlotte last season and
eliminated the Hornets in five games in the Eastern Conference
semifinals.

Rookies Brad Miller and Ricky Davis collected 10 points apiece
for the Hornets, who were without the services of guards B.J.
Armstrong, who has been sidelined with an injured knee, and
Eldridge Recasner, who has a strained right elbow.

The main reason for Charlotte's offensive futility, however, is
the loss of power forward Anthony Mason for the season due to a
biceps tear and the surgery on All-Star sharpshooter Glen Rice's
elbow, which has kept him out of the lineup since the season
began.

J.R. Reid grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for Charlotte, which
shot 40 percent (26-of-65) and committed 18 turnovers. Reid and
Bobby Phills entered the contest as the Hornets' leading scorers
with a 15.4-point scoring average, but the duo combined for just
12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Rusty LaRue scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting
for the Bulls, who shot 46 percent (36-of-78) and held a 41-38
edge on the boards.

"I felt good," said LaRue. "I have been feeling good for about
a week. Guys were finding me tonight and the shots were
falling."

"It was nice to come in our building and shoot as well as we
did," added Floyd. "It was great. We handled the ball well. We
only had 10 turnovers. And defensively, I thought out guys
played with a lot of purpose."